By Neo Kolane
The minister of labour and employment, Moshe Leoma, says the country’s labour relations governing law, the Labour Code of 1992, is earmarked to be reviewed later this year to provide for, among others, establishment of a bargaining council.
Tipped to replace the Wages Advisory Board, a bargaining council is a statutory body established with the sole purpose of regulating conditions of employment within the specific sector.
With calls emerging of the establishment of a bargaining council, theReporter approached the minister for government’s take on the subject and the chances of a bargaining council becoming a reality, as well as the legal modalities involved.
“I cannot delve into the details regarding a bargaining council because it is something that does not yet exist legally. We will have to wait for parliament to discuss the matter.
“The Labour Code of 1992 is scheduled to be reviewed by parliament in September. The issue of the bargaining council is also set to be discussed. The council will bring together both trade unions and employers to the negotiating table to discuss workplace matters,” Leoma said yesterday.
His revelations come after textile and garment workers were advised to form a bargaining council as a tool to address issues relating to wage hike negotiations.
This comes in the wake of recent labour unrests that saw thousands of workers demanding improved working conditions that include wage hike that eventually ended with an increase of 14 percent on monthly pay. A section of unions in the industry have shown discontent with the increment which they consider too little.
The public relations officer at the ministry of labour and employment ‘Mamolise Falatsa urged the unions to form a bargaining council meant to negotiate workers’ demands in the workplace
She said the 14 percent increment was a result of failure to hike workers’ wages in the financial year 202021.
She suggested that the 14 percent increment is a win-win situation intended to “meet the textile and garment workers half-way.”
Over the past two months, the struggle for better pay by workers ignited clashes with the law enforcement agencies resulting in some workers losing their lives.
The violent clashes invited heavy criticism of the Lesotho police from different quarters that accused the men in blue of being heavy handedness in dealing with labour disputes.
The lowest employee in the textile industry earns about M1 900 while some earn around M2 500, and a 14 percent hike will take the two earners to M2 166 and M2 850 respectively.
Thedeputy secretary general of Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho (IDUL), May Rathakane has in the past revealed that the bargaining council was agreed upon by employers and employees and the government conducted a study on the issue in the neighbouring South Africa in 2017.
The study was welcome and recommendations were made to the National Advisory Committee on Labour (NACOL), but has not been enacted as law.
Rathakane lashed out at the politicians who he said do not want to enact the recommendations into law.
“When it comes to the legislation regarding the workplace, the government is hesitant to enact such laws allowing for exploitation of the workers by investors who want to pay low wages,” Rathakane said.
“The investors will only come to Lesotho when the exploitation is high and that makes it hard for our laws to be passed,” he said.
He expressed confidence that a bargaining council would play a highly needed role in the workplace.
“We wish the government would allow for the establishment of a bargaining council in order to enable a stable workforce that would negotiate workers’ pay,” he remarked.
Labour experts have also joined the growing chorus of calls for establishment of bargaining councils.
Bargaining councils are given the legal authority to resolve trade disputes and enter into sector binding agreements. Their decisions are subject to review by superior courts within the jurisdiction. Since each council can have its own rules and procedures, that in itself makes bargaining easy. The negotiation process is left to the parties without the intervention of the government. They can decide on the implementation date of the newly negotiated salaries without necessarily impacting on other sectors which are not parties to such a council.
